Young Carers
Who are our young carers?
A young carer is a child or young person who is under 18 years old who provides ongoing care for a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or misuses substances. The tasks and level of caring can vary according to the nature of the illness or disability, the level, frequency and type of care needed and the structure of the family as a whole.
At our school, we have over 35 registered Young Carers.
What do young carers do?
Practical tasks, physical care, personal care, emotional support, household management, looking after siblings, interpretation and administering medication.
Why do young carers need our support?
A young carers personal and physical development and their physical and emotional health can be affected and access to social opportunities can be lessened. Due to them learning how to care for someone else at an early age they can be seen as ‘copers’. Young carers can suffer from a lack of sleep, the effects of lifting and poor diet. They may feel stressed or isolated, suffer from traumatic life changes and experiences or see the adverse effects of illness or addiction.
How do we support our Young Carers at Birchington?
We have identified over 30 Young Carers and their families who are supported by Sarah, Ellie and Mrs Williams.
Every term, our Young Carers come together to celebrate each other by taking part in lots of different activities. This might be a craft activity, games afternoon, a trip to the beach, bowling centre or to another school to visit other Young Carers in our local community.
Sometimes we are able to provide a financial contribution to help a Young Carer and their family, or we make referrals to outside agencies such as Early Help, the School Nursing Service or IMAGO.
All our staff have received dedicated training from Tina at IMAGO to widen and develop our knowledge of what it takes to be a Young Carer and how we can further support them.
If you would like to get some more support for your family please click this link below: